A Solstice Gift
by HeatherJS
Summary: Xena always carried Lyceus' death within her but as Solstice grew closer his murder plagued her thoughts more frequently. Ares attempts to do something special for his Warrior Princess to help her come to terms with her loss.


**To Xentrya, for being amazing and just being you... even though you destroy me constantly... But I still love you! :)))))**

**And Mareritt, for commiserating with me in all of our 'H' tragedy that we tried to solace together. This one's for you and I hope that I was able to help with all that nasty 'H' and was able to repair at least a fraction of it. :)))))) **

He secretly watched her through a portal as she stood next to the window in her bed chamber, staring out at the magically falling snowflakes that had started to blanket the ground in their white, fairytale like powder. He knew that there was something bothering her, he could see it in her eyes even though she tried to hide it from him. As the days went by, he recognized it for what it was, sadness. She was sad and even though he tried to ignore it, pretending that anything that had to do with her held no importance to him outside of being a warrior, he couldn't stand to see that look in her eyes and no matter what he tried to do to get it to go away it just wouldn't work. Those cerulean moons that had always shined so brightly, in which he sometimes found himself drowning, getting completely engulfed by their alluring charm, were now vacant. He sighed deeply to himself, he knew that the sadness would always be there inside of her, there was no way for him to take away that pain. A thought came to him then, he might not be able to take it away but he could give her one more day. A pleased smile began to form on his face and he vanished from his throne room to put his plan into motion…..a tricky little holiday plan….

Xxxxx

The cold she was feeling coming from the outside was nothing compared to the cold and the emptiness she felt inside of herself. In two days time it was Solstice again and she couldn't stand the thought of spending it without him. This would be the first one since that dreadful day on the fields of Amphipolis and she didn't know how she was going to do it. She started to think that maybe if she had just done something differently, had she been watching him more closely then he would still be alive and well by her side. She wouldn't have been thrown out of her own home and shunned from the only place she had ever known. He was the only one who ever got her, the only one who would stand by her no matter what. But what did that trust in her get him, a sword through the chest and him dying in her arms. She closed her eyes as the memories of that day came rushing back to her. How he had stopped for a moment to look her way, to make sure that she was alright and then seeing the blade coming out of his chest as one of Cortese's warriors struck him from behind. The coward….

A blinding rage had went through her at that moment as she watched the scene unfold in front of her. She consequently slaughtered any warrior that stood in her way of getting to her brother and by the time she had managed to get to him he was on his dying breath. She held him in her arms and tried to tell him that everything was going to be ok and to her shock, he wasn't even upset with her…. all he could talk about was how great it was to have been able to fight that battle by her side. He made her promise that day to not close herself off and his words still echoed inside of her head.

_"Xena... promise me..__. promise me__ that you won't push everyone away." Lyceus breathed out weakly with each sharp intake of breath he took, "You are going to need someone... someone who is always going to be in your corner... __and sadly, it's__ not going to be me anymore. If you drive them all away... you will be alone in the end... and I don't want you to be alone."_

_The tears were running down her face and all she could manage to do was nod her head slightly. She reached up and __gently __wiped the blood that was trickling down the side of his mouth. She was losing the one person that she held most dear in her heart, she didn't know how she was supposed to go on without him. She __had never thought __that she would __ever__ have to live a day without him there._

_"Promise me, Xena. I need to hear you say it... please." he reached his hand up and with __his last remaining force, he __ wiped the tears off of her cheeks._

_Xena leaned into the contact and brought her hand up and placed it over his. It shouldn't have been him, there was so much that he still had yet to do and she wished at that moment that it was her in his place instead. She looked into his eyes, so full of trust and hope, and knew that she could not deny him this._

_"I promise, Lyceus."_

_"Good." he smiled up at her and moved to brush away another tear, "I know that there will be someone who will cherish you and you must let him in. Don't push him away."_

_He shifted his eyes to look over her shoulder and Xena turned and looked in that direction thinking that he might have seen a soldier for Cortese that had managed to escape the battle heading their way. There was no one there but she still had the sense that someone- __a presence-__ was close by watching her. She scanned the empty field for any sign of life, her eyes being __unwillingly __drawn to one spot in particular, but still nothing. She turned back and looked at Lyceus and just then he started to cough__, as more__blood started __to come out of his mouth and before Xena could do __anything about it,__ he had died in her arms. _

An unchecked tear slid down her cheek as the memory finished. After he died it had been one bad blow after another, her mother disowned her and she was kicked out of the village for having had the guts to lead the attack against Cortese. She wandered aimlessly the forest for awhile, not really sure where she was going to go and had made camp once night started to fall. It had started to get cold and she was trying to keep her fire going. It was on its dying light as she tossed her last few twigs into it, hoping that it would be enough, and that is when he had come. The War God appeared to her and since then her life had never been the same. She was now the Chosen of War and was currently staying at the Halls of War where Ares had trained her for the past year. He infuriated her half the time but she had become quite the expert in pushing his buttons as well, and at the end of the day, no matter what one had said to the other, he always looked at her with admiration and he would do things with her that she wouldn't have been able to do in a million years.

The War God was a mystery to her sometimes, his anger could from time to time get out of control and she had seen firsthand just what could happen if you crossed him. But then there was another completely different side to him, that only rarely surfaced. The times he would just hold her close all night to keep the nightmares away – after a whole day when she wanted nothing more than to forget, nights when he would whisper things into her ear as he gently ran his hand up and down her arm, occasionally smoothing back her hair and planting a few kisses on the top of her head, coaxing her to relax just enough to fall asleep in his arms, knowing that for that night everything was going to be ok as long as she felt those strong arms around her. And how she would wake up in his warm embrace to find him, though not often, sleeping as he held her protectively and she had never felt safer then when she was in his arms.

Just then, the sound of a soft knock at her door pulled her from her thoughts. She walked over to it and pulled it open, wondering who could be knocking on her door at this late an hour. As she opened it fully she was completely shocked at the sight she had before her. She didn't know whether she was dreaming or if this was actually real.

"Lyceus?" she asked warily and brought her hand up and placed it against his cheek.

"It's really me Xena." he smiled at her and took a hold of her hand and squeezed it lightly.

"But.. but how? Who?" she asked in disbelief that he was actually standing there in front of her after all this time.

"I'm not exactly sure how, but I do know that it is only for one day and then tomorrow I have to go back to the Elysian Fields. As for the who, they did not identify themselves. Just that this was their Solstice gift to you..."

Xena was completely in shock, who could have had the power to give her brother back to her? Hades controlled the dead and she didn't know him for his generosity.

"So, can I come in?"

She quickly stepped out of the way and let Lyceus enter her room. She still couldn't believe that he was there and that she had one more day with him. There was so much she wanted to say to him, so much she wanted to do with him.

"I like what you've done with the place." Lyceus said as he looked around her bed chamber.

"Ares let me do whatever I wanted in here."

"Oh, so you and the War God huh….?" he gave her a knowing smirk that grew wider at her shocked expression.

"What? No.." she quickly denied," ... I'm his Chosen and this is where I stay and he's training me." she muttered out nervously.

"Uh-huh…..If that's what you call it these days…."

"What, it's not like that." Xena said defensively.

"I never said it was." he held his hands up in surrender and walked over to a table that had some weird looking stuff on it, "What is this?"

He held up the item that was in the shape of a shepherd's hook and had red and white spirals going down it.

"I'm not sure. Ares brought that back with him one day after he came back from Aphrodite's temple. I believe he said it was a candy cane, it's supposed to be some kind of mint, something that she was trying out but I haven't tried it. If Aphrodite is experimenting with it then it can't be good…" she jokingly replied, chuckling softly at her own conclusion.

Lyceus placed it back down on the table carefully, not wanting to be affected by some strange trick gone wrong by the Goddess of Love.

"So, what should we do?"

They spent the night and about half of the next day just talking and Xena made sure to fill him in on everything that had happened to her since his death. How she was turned away from Amphipolis after the battle was over and how she came to stay at the Halls of War with Ares. Lyceus took note that in every single one of the stories that she had told him there was a mention of the War God. He was certain that she didn't realize that she was just going on and on about the Olympian. He smiled to himself….. she had found **him** and from the stories she was telling him, he knew that the War God would treasure her above all else and that he would always be there for her, even if she pushed him away. He was happy for her, he was afraid that with her stubbornness and daring attitude she would have shut the world out after his death, but it seemed that the War God had found a way to get by her defenses and wormed his way into her heart and considering that he was sitting there now told him that she had wormed her way into his as well.

"I couldn't believe that he would do this…. I haven't talked to Ares for days with how upset I was with him and..." she stopped mid sentence at seeing that Lyceus looked a little distracted by something, "Are you ok?'

He looked over at her and could see her concern for him in her eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine.. It's just that it is snowing outside and we are sitting in here when we could be building a snowman."

Lyceus quickly stood up from the bed and pulled Xena along with him and grabbed their coats and headed outside. He immediately started to roll up some snow to make the base of the snowman and waved Xena over to him to help him. She came over and started to help pack the snow on the base while he started to work on the middle section. After a few failed attempts of getting the head on, they finally managed to put it in place and stood back to admire their handy work. Xena walked over to the steps of the temple where the snow had not completely covered the ground there and picked up a few pebbles. She walked back over to their creation and started sticking the pebbles in it, thus giving their snowman some eyes, a nose, a mouth and placing a few in a straight line on the middle section of it. Lyceus went and retrieved a few sticks and stuck them in the sides of the snowman to give him some arms.

"There, now he looks human." he said as he admired his handy work, "Not too shabby, but I gotta say you went a little crazy on the bottom part there. It's a little too big."

"It only looks big because you made the head too small."

"Hey, you can't blame me for that. If you would of held onto your side then it wouldn't have fallen." he retorted, but the tease was clearly heard in his voice.

Xena just chuckled at him and walked back up to the snowman and started to smooth over the snow to make him look less bumpy. She ran her hand over it and then stopped once she heard Lyceus humming something.

"Don't tell me you are humming that tune."

"What, do you not like this song?...Because if I remember correctly you love it." he exclaimed at her annoyed expression.

"Lyceus, don't you even think about it." she threatened.

"I wouldn't dream of it." he turned away from her and pretended to be looking for something on the ground. Seeing that she had turned her attention back to the snowman he began to hum the tune again and then started to sing it.

"And may its clay jugs fill with honey, wine and oil..." but he was quickly shut up as a snowball collided right with his face. He shook off the shock of it and looked in Xena's direction and saw her with this huge grin on her face.

"Oh, you think this is funny do you?" he reached down and started to pack some snow in his own hand, "Well how about this?" he asked, launching the snowball at her but she swiftly dodged it and threw another one at him in return, one that hit him square in the chest. He picked up more snow and started throwing it at her and she managed to move out of the way of all of his attacks.

"That's not fair! You've been trained by the God of War to avoid attacks."

"Don't blame him for your lack of proper skill in a snowball fight." she shouted out from behind the snowman she was using as a shield. Not getting a response from him she peeked her head out from around her cover and saw that Lyceus was nowhere to be seen. She furrowed her brow as she wondered where he could have gone and then suddenly she was being pelted with snow as he attacked her from behind. She started her own attack and soon they were both covered in it and their clothes were soaked, starting to get cold they headed inside to warm up.

Half an hour later, having changed out of their wet clothes they sat by the fire to help dry themselves some more. They sat there in silence for awhile, just enjoying each other's company. Xena wasn't sure what to say, she knew her time was running out and she didn't want this day to end. To have to say goodbye to him all over again was not going to be easy and she didn't want to do it. Lyceus could see that she was struggling with something, he could see the hint of sadness that was now playing in her eyes and he knew that she was dreading what was coming next.

"Are you going to be spending Solstice with anyone special?" he asked her to try and get her mind off of what they both knew was going to happen.

Xena looked up from the fire at him at his words and smiled softly at him. She knew what he was doing, he was trying to distract her by trying to get her to think about something else. She would always love him for trying to take care of her and looking out for her, she only wished that he could stay.

"There is no one special, Lyceus." she told him and turned her gaze back to the fire in front of them.

"Hhmm, could have fooled me." he murmured. When she turned back to look at him he just smiled at her, "I thought I was special?"

"You are." she laughed lightly at him, "But we both know this will end tonight and then tomorrow will just be tomorrow and no one wants to spend time with me anymore. Not after what I've done."

"What about that War God of yours? From what I hear, you can't seem to get him out of your hair."

"Ares? I'm sure he has his own plans for Solstice and hanging around me is not part of it. He gets enough of me the rest of the year and I'm sure he would want to spend it with someone special."

"But you're his Chosen, you are special…." he reached over and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "And who wouldn't want to spend the day with you?" he teased as he nudged her with his elbow.

"That may be so, but I'm sure he would want a break from me from driving him crazy and questioning everything that he tells me."

Deep down Xena knew that she would have loved to spend the day with him. If she had to choose someone to spend Solstice with then it would be the War God. He understood her and never pushed her and although they were sometimes at each other's throats, she had come to have some feelings for him. He was like nothing she had ever known before and he certainly always kept surprising her throughout their time together. But at times when she thought that maybe things would lead to something he would pull away from her. They had kissed once, it was brief and it just sort of happened and then he just left the room as if he couldn't get away from her quick enough once it was over, as if he had felt disgusted by that kiss… She came to realize that day that she may have developed some feelings for him but he did not have any feelings for her.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. He seems very fond of you."

"How would you know what he thinks? You never even met him." she questioned him and then turned to look at her brother and saw the soft smile that was on his face.

"It was him wasn't it? He sent you to me, Ares." she didn't know why she didn't make that connection from the beginning. Who else would have done it, no one but the War God knew.

"I promised my silence but I won't deny it." he knew she would figure it out eventually so there was no point in pretending anymore, "You should hear the way he talks about you. When he was down there in the Underworld, bargaining with Hades to lend me to him, it was a sight to see. I was cautious at first, wondering what this God wanted with my sister, and I refused to accompany him at first but then he convinced me."

"What did he say to make you go with him?" Xena inquired, curious of what Ares could have said to have gotten her brother to trust him when they had never met before. Lyceus never agreed to anything that had to do with her if he knew that she had no idea what it was about. He just smiled at her before he finally told her what the War God said.

"He told me that he didn't want to see the sadness in your eyes anymore." he paused for a moment at her shocked expression to let his words sink in, "And no matter what he did he couldn't get it to go away and the only thing he could think of to cheer you up was to give you what your heart really wanted... me. He cares about you Xena, leave it to you to be able to get the God of War to show some feelings."

She couldn't believe what she had just heard, that the War God had actually done this to begin with. She thought back to all the things he had made her do over the last few days, the places he had taken her, the things he tried to do and her just getting upset with him and demanding him to take her back to the Halls of War and just leave her alone... It was all a distraction, his way of trying to make her happy and to forget the emptiness that was holding her heart captive , trying to fill it with something else.

She was angry with herself for having lashed out at him when he was only trying to brighten her spirit. But it never stopped him, the War God constantly tried to get her out of the Halls of War. Even when she said some nasty things to him, pushing him to the extreme to make him angry enough with her so he would leave. Those were the days that her nightmares would be the most horrible and she would wake up screaming from the torture Morpheus would bestow upon her. Ares would hear her screams and even after what she had said to him, he would still come back and guard her. He wouldn't say anything about it, he would just simply lay down on the bed next to her and he would gather her protectively in his arms and run his fingers through her hair to soothe her so she could sleep. Her brother's words disrupted her from her thoughts.

"He told Hades that he wanted to make it up to you, something that he had done a few months ago that he shouldn't have. He didn't say what it was, but man did the thought of it put a miserable look on his face! "

Lyceus could see that she was processing all of this information. She had looked stunned that it had been the War God that sent him to her, although she had figured it out on her own. From the way she was going on about him earlier it seemed to him that she had developed some feelings for the guy after all and after the Gods' little trip to the Underworld he knew that the War God had some feelings for her as well and they both appeared to have failed to share that information with each other. He didn't know Ares but he knew his sister. She always guarded and rarely let anyone in or lets them get too close to her. They were both probably just as stubborn as the other and neither one most likely wanted to be the one that risked it all for nothing.

"It's late, why don't we call it a night?"

"No, I don't want to sleep. I don't want to waste any time I have left with you." she looked at him with a plea in her eyes.

"Alright, we don't have to sleep, we can just lay down and rest."

Xena thought it was a good idea and they made their way over to her bed and they both laid down in it. They laid side by side at first and then Xena turned to him and nestled herself in his arms and rested her head on his chest. She held him closely to herself, not quite ready to let him go again and thinking that if she just held on to him tight enough then he would stay with her. He returned her hold and held her firmly to himself. She didn't realize how tired she really was until she let herself relax a little. Her eyelids were becoming heavy and she tried to fight against it, not wanting it to be over already.

"Don't let me fall asleep, Lyceus." she murmured out as her eyes finally won the battle and they closed.

She soon fell asleep though against his chest and he just held her close. He didn't want it to end either but he knew his time on the mortal realm was up and he had to go back. He sighed deeply, aware that once she woke up the next day she would be brokenhearted to know that he had slipped away when she was asleep. She would hate herself for not having stayed awake the whole time. He knew it was time, he could feel the changes in his body as it started to become less solid. He shifted himself out from underneath her and got out of bed. He leaned down and kissed her softly against her head then moved his mouth to her ear.

"Don't push him away, Xena. Let him in." he whispered against her ear and then placed another kiss against the side of her head. He stood up straight and looked down at her lovingly.

"Ares." he called out and then a blue light filled the space and the God of War stood before him, "I'm ready to go back." he looked down at Xena sleeping peacefully and then turned back to the God before him, "Take care of her."

The War God regarded the man that stood before him, he had watched the two of them together the whole day. He had brought something out of his Princess that he had not been able to do himself. She was constantly smiling, a smile that he had only rarely been able to bring out of her once or twice but yet this man had managed to plaster it on her face the whole day. Ares looked over to his sleeping Princess, for once she was not plagued with dreams of the horror of having lost her brother that day and she was sleeping soundly. He knew that her brother held a part of her that he would never have... her heart. He looked back at Lyceus and gave him a slight nod, with a wave of his hand he sent him back to Hades realm.

He refocused on Xena and moved to sit down on the bed beside her. He reached out and smoothed back the hair from her face and let his fingers run through her silky tresses for a moment. He figured she wouldn't be needing him tonight, the nightmares usually came by now and it seemed that her brother's presence was enough to keep them at bay. He frowned to himself with the way that he was able to so easily comfort her. But what if the nightmares did come back later in the night and he wasn't there to keep them away? He knew she wouldn't be able to fall back asleep and he made up his mind and decided to stay, just to make sure that they stayed away. The War God made his leathers disappear and materialized a pair of black slacks on himself and moved to lay down next to her. He just stared at her face for a few seconds and then gently gathered her into his arms, making sure he wouldn't wake her, and she went willingly as she nestled her head against his chest.

She inhaled deep against him and then sighed out with a moan and then burrowed herself more into his warm embrace as she draped her arm and leg over him. He held her tightly to himself and she returned his hold as her arm around his waist tightened its grip.

"Happy Solstice, Xena" he whispered against her ear and then placed a kiss against the top of her head. He laid there with her well into the night to make sure that Morpheus was going to leave her alone. He let his hand run softly up and down her arm, enjoying the feel of her silky skin against his fingers. She shifted a little in his embrace and whimpered out and for a moment he thought that maybe the dreams had started again but soon she was relaxing back into his hold as she snuggled herself as close to him as possible. Assured enough that she was going to have a peaceful night he wrapped his arms tightly around her, just to be sure, and closed his eyes to join his princess.

Xxxxxxx

She felt the strong arms that held her tightly in a warm protective embrace, she already knew who it was and she slowly opened her eyes. She picked her head up off of the War God's chest and looked at his face and saw that he was sleeping. It was rare that she ever caught him doing it and she smiled to herself at the peaceful look that was on his face. She usually awoke to him staring at her or stroking her hair and she rarely ever got to see him so vulnerable. He seemed so calm and she didn't have the heart to wake him just yet. She knew that at the moment things were going rough for him, Zeus as always was breathing down his neck about some attack he had planned against Athena and since the Goddess had lost the assault she had sent dear old dad to defend her cause. She looked tenderly down at the War God and brought her hand up and lightly let her finger trace his jaw line to his chin and then let her hand roam down his chest.

She abruptly stopped though when she felt his heartbeat change its rhythm and she let her hand rest there for a moment. It was strong, just like the God was, and she moved to settle herself back in his arms. She placed her head against his chest and listened to the sound of his heart beating. She let out a deep sigh and figured she would lay there for a while longer. It was Solstice after all and she decided it would be her gift to herself and pretend for a moment that they were just two ordinary people who took comfort with lying in the other's arms. At the thought of a gift she started to think about the day before and the gift that the War God had given her. A small smile pulled at her lips as she remembered her time with Lyceus and she knew that she had to find some way to thank Ares for giving her that time with her brother.

Despite how painful his departure was, his presence had actually helped her come to terms with what happened and now she knew that he did not hold her accountable for his death like so many others. He was still the same old Lyceus, curious, mischievous and accepting. When she had told him about everything that had happened to her since his death he did not judge her, he just listened like he always did. It was the best gift that anyone had ever given her and she was trying to think of something that was equally as special to give to the War God. But what did one get someone who could have anything they wanted with a snap of his fingers? That was indeed a challenge...

Ares had been awake the moment she moved out of his arms, he didn't want it to be over so soon and he had decided to just lay there and let her think he was asleep to see what she was going to do next. When she chose to nestle herself back against him instead of just getting up and leaving him there he was overjoyed. He had to resist the urge to wrap his arms tight around her so as not to alert her that he was really awake and then the moment would be over. He longed for her and he thought that he had screwed everything up when he had kissed her a few months ago. He didn't want to see the disgusted look that would have sure to have been on her face for him having kissed her and he left as soon as the kiss was broken. It was very short but it was the best kiss he had ever had and he felt like he was in the Elysian Fields for having felt her lips moving against his own. She was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted and he didn't know how he had managed to stop himself from devouring her at that moment. He wanted her with a fierce passion but he wanted her to want it too, but ever since that day she had been a little distant from him and never let him get that close to her again where another one could have happened. He knew he had screwed up and he wasn't sure how to get things back to the way it once was. He shouldn't have kissed her, it was a dumb move and he should have just controlled his urge a little more.

While all kind of thought whirled inside his head, he suddenly felt her moving against him, making her body rub against his and he couldn't help the groan that tumbled out of his mouth at the feel of her pressed up against him. She chuckled against him and then propped herself up to look at him.

"I know you're awake so you can stop pretending." she said teasingly and then slapped him playfully on the chest.

"Ow..." Ares opened his eyes and then pouted at her, "... that hurt." he moved his hand to his chest and started to knead the area where she had hit him as if it were sore.

"Don't be such a baby, I barely touched you!" she sat up in the bed and moved away from him a little so she could look at him.

"Tell that to the person you didn't hit. I, on the other hand might just have to spend the rest of the day recuperating from your vicious assault." he continued to rub against his chest as if he was in pain and began to mope.

"Oh please, if that hurt, then you are going soft on me War God." she couldn't help but smile at his ridiculous act of being hurt by her and how he was sulking in her bed.

"And on today of all days. I thought people were supposed to be all cheerful during Solstice, not going around attacking the first person they see." he thought about that last comment for a moment, "Although, it would certainly make things more interesting."

He continued to act like his world had ended from her physical attack against him and when he turned his head away from her, to pretend to have been hurt by her act of violence, Xena- eager to make up- leaned forward and placed a gentle soft kiss against his cheek. He instantly stiffened at the contact, he was completely stunned by the action and at the same time elated to have been able to feel her sweet lips against his skin again. He turned his head back to look at her. She just shifted awkwardly for a moment and then finally brought her eyes up to meet his.

"Thank you... For Lyceus, for giving me one more day with him."

"How did you... never mind, I should have known you would figure it out. You always do."

They sat in silence for a while, each one not really knowing how to proceed. She wanted to spend the day with him but wasn't sure how the War God would react to her request. Would he think that she was just some weak mortal who was just getting sappy on him? And she wished he would just stop staring at her, it was only making it harder for her to ask him.

"Ares?" she asked undecidedly, not really sure if she should voice it or not.

"Hhmm." was his simple reply, for he was too busy studying her gorgeous visage and how the shift she was wearing was just emphasizing her every curve. He longed to just reach out and take her into his arms and make sweet gentle love to her.

"I wanted to ask something."

"What is it my dear?"

"I.. uh.. I was wondering..." she murmured out nervously, "... that if maybe... if you didn't have any plans already... that maybe... you would want to spend... Solstice day... with me?"

She quickly adverted her eyes from him and looked down at the bed sheet. Why did she have to sound so nervous? She might have been able to leave with a little more dignity from his rejection if she had sounded more confident. But no, she had to sound so needy and the War God was probably just appalled with her weak behavior, she was certainly disgusted with herself at not having shown less emotion in that request. Nevertheless, she was surprised when he ran the backs of his fingers down her cheek and then took a hold of her chin and tilted her face back up to meet his.

"That my dear, is the best offer I've gotten." he caressed her cheek lightly and then ran his fingers through her hair.

He took a hold of her hand and then pulled her back towards him and nestled her against himself. He wrapped his arms around her and started to run his hand up and down her back. Xena smiled against him and let herself relax into his hold. She started to trace invisible patterns against his chest. For the first time in a long time she felt happy, but then she realized that she had been happy for a while now. The War God may not have been perfect but then again neither was she and although they might have spent half of her training over the last year just infuriating each other, he had made her happy. With one simple gesture he could make her forget all her troubles….

"So, what should we do today?"

"Well,..." she propped herself up so she could look into his eyes,"... have you ever built a snowman?"

Xxxxxxx

He couldn't believe that he had let her talk him in to doing this. He thought this was just ridiculous as he watched her attempt to pat the snow together and make it into larger balls. She was down on her knees in the white powder and pushing a small ball of snow around to make it bigger. He had to admit though it did have its perks, she was leaning forward pushing the snow and she was giving him an ample view of her cleavage. But then she would start to push it in a circle and give him a stunning view of her backside as she would move it back and forward in her attempts to get the snow to move. Maybe this snowman concept wasn't such a bad idea after all.

"You know if you actually helped then maybe we could actually get one made." she told him as she cast a look over her shoulder to see him staring at her ass.

"You seem to be doing a good job there all on your own. Wouldn't want to cramp your style."

"What, is the big bad God of War afraid of a little snow?"

"No, I don't do snow. But if you want to play in it, by all means. Don't let me stop you." he cocked his head to the side as he continued to admire his view of her, "Plus, your technique there, it's uh... very inspiring."

Xena laughed at his comment, her technique yeah right. He was too busy with his eyes glued to her bottom to notice anything else. A thought came to her then, if she wanted the War God to help her with it then she was going to have to persuade him and show him just how much fun it could be. With the wheels turning in her devious mind she stood up from the ground and started to remove her coat ever so slowly. She was wearing a skin tight pair of black leather pants and she wore a navy blue blouse that had long sleeves and that let just the right amount of cleavage show to entice her already doomed prey and she undid the ties that slightly closed it to allow more of her breasts to show.

"All that work was making me hot." she tossed her coat a few feet away from her and then started to fan herself with her hand. She sighed out and then resumed her position of pushing the snow ball around to make the base. She made sure to start facing him so he could get a glimpse of her breasts that were being revealed from the loose fabric. She then turned around and started to push the ball in the opposite direction, making sure to deliberately stick her ass out and she knew her plan was working when she heard the small growl that came from the War God as he watched her.

She was driving him crazy, that outfit and the way she was moving around on the ground had his eyes glued to her every movement. The way the fabric seemed to adhere to her body, highlighting all her curves to him had his groin pushing painfully against his pants at the sight of it. Watching her breasts rising and falling and how that pesky fabric stopped just short of letting him admire the view completely of them. She continued to move and pat the snow together and then she had felt him place his hand on the small of her back and she stopped her movements.

"Maybe this snow idea could be worth a try." he said against her ear and ran his right hand slowly down her arm till he reached her hand.

Xena cocked her head to the side to look at him and gave him a small smile. "See, I told you it could be fun. It all depends on the company."

"Yeah, the company." he whispered out as he let his eyes roam down to her breasts that were just straining against the material that kept him from them.

"Good, now you finish this one and I'll start on the head." she patted him on the cheek and then moved away from him and started to make another ball of snow.

After a few more hours and a small amount of staring on Ares' part, she finally managed to get the War God to help her finish the snowman.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it?"

"I guess not." he said dejectedly, as if he didn't really enjoy himself the whole time.

He walked over to a tree and propped himself up against it as he watched her stick a few pebbles into the body of it and as he plumped against it a pile of snow had fallen from the tree and fell directly on top of him. He quickly started to brush off the snow that he got buried in and while he was doing that he heard the faintest sound of laughter. The War God looked up to the sight of Xena barely being able to control her laughter as he dusted the snow off of himself. She was poorly trying to hide that she was laughing at him as she covered her mouth to stifle her giggles.

"You think this is funny?"

Xena couldn't even give him an answer, she brought her other hand up to try and conceal her all out laughter at seeing the War God covered in snow. She just ended up shaking her head no as her body began to shake with amusement as she tried to suppress it.

"Really?" he made some snow rise up into his hand and he began to form it into a small ball, "Because you could have fooled me."

Her laughter quickly died when she realized what he was about to do. "Don't you dare, Ares!"

"What, this?" he asked as he lightly tossed the snowball from one hand to the other, "This is just nothing." a wicked grin formed on his face as he took a few steps in her direction.

Xena backed away from him slightly, trying to anticipate his next move. She stared at him for a moment and then shifted her eyes to the snow at her feet and then back up at him. Before she knew it the War God had thrown the snowball at her and she quickly ducked out of the way and gathered some snow of her own in her hands and sent it flying in his direction. She had made contact as it hit him straight in the face and she couldn't help but laugh again with the way the snow was sticking to his beard.

"Oh, you are going to pay for that! " he jokingly threatened and made more snow fly up into his hand.

At his threat, she quickly took off from him and headed into the trees. She ran into the forest for a short distance and then she came upon a frozen lake and stopped as she slipped on it a little. She regained her balance and stepped back from the slippery surface and bent down and began to pack some snow into her hands. She looked around herself to see if she could see the War God heading in her direction and saw nothing but then she caught a glimpse of black as he walked by a tree and she hurriedly stood up and hid behind one. Xena could hear his boots crunching in the snow and she stood completely still so she wouldn't give away her position. After hearing his steps fade a little she cast a glance from around the tree to see in which direction he had gone. She looked in all directions and saw nothing but an empty forest. He had to be around there somewhere and she scanned the horizon to see if she could catch a hint of him out there.

"Did you really think that you could hide from me?"

At the sound of the War God's voice behind her, Xena whirled around and with the snowball that she still held in her hand she brought it up with the thought of plastering it all over his face. Much to her surprise though he simply caught her wrist in his hand and halted her attempt at completing her goal and the throw lost its momentum and the snowball fell miserably to the ground between them. He looked down at it and then brought his eyes back up to her face and just gave her a devilish smile and then he began pelting her with snow. She finally managed to get her arm free and she endeavored to launch her own attack against the War God. She stooped down to the snow at her feet and packed a small amount of snow in her hands as he continued to launch snow at her and she flung it in the War God's direction. Under the assault of the God of War she managed to make contact and it hit him square in the chest.

The War God was in shock….the nerve she had, the little vixen! She attempted to flee but he had caught her by her arm and spun her back around to face him. She tried to break free of his hold and then her foot made contact with the slippery ice and she stumbled. She immediately grabbed on to Ares to try and steady herself but all she managed to do was drag him onto the ice with her and he started to stagger too. Without putting too much thought behind it, Xena grabbed onto the War God's vest and then fell backwards into the soft snow, bringing the God of War with her. He fell right on top of her and his lower half had come to rest between her legs. She couldn't help her laughter at the whole situation and she just giggled beneath him and soon he too started to laugh along with her.

As their laughter began to die down, Xena stared up into the deep brown eyes of the God of War. He slowly reached up and moved her hair out of her face and brushed a few stray flakes of snow away, letting his fingertips glide over her cheek. She suddenly became aware of the position that they were in and she tried to shift a little under him but had only succeeded in grinding her crotch against his and they both moaned out from the contact. The War God stared deep into her crystal blue eyes and then little by little leaned into her. He stopped mere inches away from her mouth, letting their hot breaths mix together for a moment, and glanced up to her eyes before brushing his lips against hers as if waiting for her approval. He kissed her softly and she moaned lowly into his mouth, returning his kiss and he gradually began to deepen it. A few delicious seconds later, Ares broke the kiss and pulled back slightly and looked down at her.

"Xena.." he let the sentence go unfinished but the passion was clear in his eyes.

He wanted her at that moment, he wanted all of her, he longed to be inside of her. Xena laid there breathing heavily from the kiss they had just shared. She could see the desire shining in his eyes for her and she was sure that at this point that it matched her own. She wanted him, to feel him deep inside of her and the yearning that was reflected in the War God's eyes told her that he wanted the same thing. She reached up and cupped his face and he leaned into the contact and she moved her hand to the back of his neck. She wiggled a little against him and he thought that she was trying to get free and he started to lift himself off of her but then she pulled him down to her and captured his lips again in another kiss. Ares took that as a sign that she wanted him to make love to her and he kissed her deeply and then shifted his hips into her, causing his throbbing shaft to rub against her crotch and she moaned out from the contact. He broke their kiss and started to trail his lips against her jaw and then down her neck to her chest until he got to her breasts. He started to lavish the tops of her breasts and he ran his left hand up under her blouse and cupped her breast in his hand. He squeezed lightly and then began to run his thumb over her nipple teasingly.

The next thing Xena knew she was feeling the soft silk sheets against her back as the War God laid her down on his bed and had made her blouse vanish. He had taken her nipple into his mouth and began to suckle against her breast and she arched into him. He soon turned his attention to the other peak and gave it equal attention as her soft sighs of pleasure filled his head. Ares ran his hand down her body till he got to her thigh. He had made her pants disappear somewhere along the way and he slowly moved his hand to her heat.

Xena could feel his slow descent down her body and she bucked up into him in anticipation to his touch. The War God ran his fingers up her slick opening, feeling that she was ready for him as her sweet juices were already seeping out, and then he pushed his fingers slowly deep inside of her. She moaned out from the contact but then just as soon as it happened he pulled them from her body. He began to rub his thumb against her clit and Xena fisted violently her hands into the bed sheets as she whimpered out from his ministrations. Even though he had started off slow, he then gradually began to increase the pressure of his strokes. Feeling her slick juices begin to leak more from her body he stopped his ministrations and then slipped his fingers back inside of her. He started to move them in and out of her and Xena began to rock her hips in rhythm with his strokes.

Her soft cries of pleasure were like a drug to him, he just kept wanting more and more and so, he started to thrust his fingers into her a little faster as she moved in cadence with his strokes. Never stopping the tempo with his fingers he kissed his way back up her chest and took possession of her mouth. His erection, now pushing hard against his pants was only growing with each moan that escaped from Xena's mouth. The War God wanted so badly to be inside of her but he wanted to worship her first. He started to move his fingers in and out of her at a faster pace and Xena tore her mouth from his and cried out in pleasure as he plunged his fingers into her. She never knew that it could feel this good and her body curved into his more the moment he started to hit her g-spot. She panted out against his shoulder and as he thrust his fingers into her again and again her orgasm rocked through her, making her cry out from it.

Completely bewitched by her own ecstasy, Ares plunged his fingers into her repeatedly to help maximize it for her and then he pulled them from her body. He climbed on top of her and just watched as she panted out trying to catch her breath underneath him, pure bliss glistening on her face as she slowly came down from her ecstasy. She had her eyes closed but then she opened them and he saw the clear passion that was staring back at him from those bright sapphire moons. He leaned down and captured her lips and began to plunder her mouth. He made his pants vanish and he ran the tip of his swollen cock along the folds of her opening and she moaned into his mouth. He pulled back to look at her and moved his hand up to run his fingers through her hair. He looked deep into her eyes and then she gave him a slight nod and he little by little pushed the tip of his godhood into her. Her eyes were clouded with pleasure at the feel of him stretching her and he pushed himself more into her sweet depths, moaning at the feel of her sheathing his engorged shaft.

He remained still at first once he filled her completely and then he started to move against her. He pulled himself out and then plunged his throbbing shaft back into her. It felt so good to feel her accepting him, meeting his thrusts and thus he started to thrust himself faster into her. Xena wrapped her arms around the War God to help keep herself grounded to the sensations that he was building inside of her and she whimpered out as he started to thrust himself deeper inside of her. She could feel the buildup of her release begin to start again and she met the War God thrust for thrust. Ares had sensed the passion growing inside of his Princess and he picked up the pace and he rammed himself inside of her, reveling in the way their bodies accommodated the other. He wanted her to meet her sweet end and he moved his hand between their bodies and began to rub against her clit. She cried out from the new sensation and her back arched off of the bed as the War God pleasured her. Ares knew she was close and he was going to tip over that abyss with the way her inner muscles were constricting around his shaft but he was going to take her with him. He began to increase the pressure of his strokes on her clit and started to thrust himself deeply inside of her as he picked up the pace. A throaty moan tumbled out of Xena's mouth from the War Gods stimulating movements, she held on to him tighter, digging her nails into his back and she tried to stifle her cries of pleasure as she buried her face in the crook of his neck but her moans of ecstasy only fueled Ares on and the intensity of his strokes increased. It wasn't long after that she had cried out as another orgasm shot through her and she pulled the War God along with her as she clenched him tight and he spread his seed deep inside of her.

He rolled off of her and pulled her tightly to him. They laid there in each other's arms while they tried to calm down their breathing. It was when their bodies had finally joined that Xena realized what her gift to the War God was and grasped that she couldn't give him that because he already had it and she didn't even realize it. Somewhere down the line he had stolen her heart, that was something she didn't think she would ever give to anybody but yet the War God held it firmly in his hands. She couldn't deny it and she only hoped that he wasn't going to destroy it and would always be there. Everyone else that she had ever known or loved had left her or deserted her because of what she did. …Even Lyceus in the end, even if it wasn't intentional, left her.

Just then her brother's words echoed in her head, Lyceus was talking about the God of War. He was telling her to not push him away, the one that would always be by her side. And the War God was always there, even when he didn't have to look twice at a simple outcast village girl. He was there, when everyone else had forsaken her.

With that thought in mind, she moved her arm around his waist and held him closely, wanting to confirm to herself that he was there now and what they did had actually happened and was not a dream.

Ares was thinking along the same lines as his Chosen warrior, he was amazed that she had managed to do the impossible and awakened a long dormant heart that he was certain that he didn't have. But she had it, it was held captive by her and he hoped that she would never let it go. He pulled her more snuggly to himself, he never wanted to let her go. He felt as if she had given him a part of herself when she accepted him inside of her, a part that he desperately wanted and he hoped that he had it. And if he didn't have it yet then he was going to work on getting it.

"Ares.." she began but soon stopped, not wanting to look weak in front of him.

"Yes, my dear." he started to caress her hair as he waited for her to finish what she wanted to say.

"Don't... don't leave me." she whispered out barely loud enough for him to hear.

But the War God had indeed heard her and, before he decided to voice his reply, he just wrapped his arms around her even more tightly, thus letting her know that he would never leave her. She burrowed herself more into his strong embrace and returned his hold as they both held on to each other.

"Never, my dear, never."

He placed a kiss on the top of her head and nestled his on top of hers. Ares knew that was one promise he never planned on breaking. She was his and he was going to do everything in his power to keep it that way. He could feel her smiling against his chest and then she settled herself more into his embrace.

"Happy Solstice, Ares." she murmured out as sleep started to consume her.

"Happy Solstice, Xena."

The War God closed his eyes and soon he and his queen drifted off to sleep with the promise that they would always be together.


End file.
